6/27/2006

Last night we got to see Eddie Izzard perform at the Coronet Theatre, a pretty small venue. He's one of my favorite comedians and definitely my favorite transvestite. Last night he wasn't in drag and was a bit scruffy. Still as funny as hell. I appreciate his humor because there is intellegence and knowledge of current events behind it. Thanks Ren for clueing me in that he was in town again this week. I knew I'd missed him last week and had no idea I'd get another chance! So, that's the good news. I needed a laugh and got several, sitting pretty close to one of the funniest men on the planet.

And now, the not-so-good news. Moose, the dog best known for originating the role of "Eddie" on Fraiser, died last Thursday. He had a long life and enjoyed retirement for the past six and a half years. He was a published dog-author and Rusty and I thoroughly enjoyed his book.

6/25/2006

I normally don't post things on this blog that I post on my other one. That site is primarily for the daily photo challenges I participate in. Recently, I started participating in a weekly haiku challenge as well. Since I post my poems with complimentary photos, I delegated them to the other blog.

This week's assignment taught me about a form of haiku I didn't know, called the Fib, which is essentially a 20-syllable haiku done in lines of 1/1/2/3/5/8. It was fun to try and I'm pleased with my first attempt, so I decided to post it here as well.

6/24/2006

I mentioned the L.A. Film Festival a few days ago. It's in full swing right now and in spite of not getting myself a pass, like I did last year, I have been to Westwood a couple of times for the event. With E's pass, he got tickets to the opening night film, The Devil Wears Prada, and the party that followed. The movie was nothing special. The general story has been done so many times and it just seemed a bit odd to have a big, Hollywood chick flick open a festival which supposedly champions independent film. But, hey, what do I know? A lot of my girlie-girl co-workers will probably enjoy it, so I will recommend it to them.

The after party was okay, but not overly impressive either. The food was so-so, aside from some scrumptious bite-size fruit tarts they served. There was a lot of free booze flowing, but unfortunately, I'd come directly from work and was going to have to drive home. I decided to get one drink, but it was so strong, I threw it away after two sips. So, sorry Ren, no drunk dialing yet, but maybe I'll get you next week!

Today I got up bright and early and headed to Westwood in an attempt to get a ticket for the documentary who killed the electric car? It was sold out, so I had some time to kill before getting in the wait list line and proceeded to Starbucks for some air conditioning, caffeine, and reading time. Instead of one hour prior to the screening, as the box office had suggested, I went over to the wait list line two hours in advance. There were already 10 people in line, so that was a good call. Unfortunatley, it was 90 degrees already. The line was right in the sun with few prospects for shade anywhere nearby. At first I thought it was better than the frigid Park City weather we endure during the Sundance Film Festival, but then I remembered the shelter (heated tents) they provide for the people waiting in line. Not only that, but they are a far more organized fest with knowledgeable volunteers and a system for wait listing that works well.

So, after suffering the effects of global warming by excreting quarts of sweat and getting a sunburn on my face and arms, I did get in to see the movie. I think only about three people behind me got in, so I'm glad I lined up when I did. E got in with his pass and saved me a seat. The documentary was great and the kind of film I enjoy seeing. It's sad, maddening, and eye-opening. It is opening in NY and L.A. next week and hopefully wider after that. It's a great summer companion piece to An Inconvenient Truth. Oh, and a friend of mine is in it (I had no idea). Eddie "Crabman" Steeples is apparently a friend of hers too as E saw him hugging her before the show. I hope he enjoyed the movie too.

Following the movie, there was a "Green Day" festival next door. No, not the band (which I would not have minded at all!), but various vendors promoting a green lifestyle. There was a lot of information, as well as freebies, so I enjoyed it. I would like to be able to say that I live more of a green lifestyle than I do, but I can't. I have been trying to make small changes, the ones I can afford to do, but there is always more I could do to impact the planet.

Last night at Avalon in Hollywood, Joe Jackson commented, "I like this part of Los Angeles because it's kind of seedy. I'm not really a Rodeo Drive type of guy." A man after my own heart! He put on a terrific show, opening with a couple of older songs he performed solo on the piano, then continuing with the bass player and drummer from his original band. The trio played some new songs, interspersed with classic hits.

Now, I've always assumed that Ben Folds, one of my very favorite musicians, must have been somewhat inspired by Joe Jackson, among other great piano-pop artists. I thought it was great fun to have Jackson perform on the William Shatner album, Has Been, that Folds produced. Even better were the two live shows at the El Rey in October 2004 with Folds, Shatner, and Jackson. Good, good times. (Oh, and Henry Rollins performed on one of the nights).

What I found interesting is that Joe Jackson is now touring with his piano, a bass, and drums. Hmmm...sounds an awful lot like the Ben Folds set up! E and I noted that on a couple of the newer songs, there were some "ba ba ba" backing vocals, which is also very Ben Folds. E turned to me and said "Okay, now who's inspiring who?"

6/22/2006

The Los Angeles Film Festival opens tonight. Ten days of movie goodness. And free drinks. Well, not so much for me this year as I decided to forgo getting a pass. The event is primarily being held in Westwood this year, which is fairly inconvenient for me. It was wonderful in previous years when it took place at 8000 Sunset complex, with screenings held primarily at the Laemmle Sunset 5 and the DGA Theatre Complex. Parking was not too expensive and the location was so easy for me to get to from work or home.

So, I'm a little bummed that I won't be going to as much of the festival this year, but I will definitely be taking in some screenings. E has a pass that includes some tickets for certain films and events, including tonight's opening movie The Devil Wears Prada, followed by a party. Of course a lot of the films I want to see overlap with other interesting-sounding ones. There are a couple of things I missed at Sundance that I hope to catch.

6/20/2006

I went to a free screening of Cars last night and really enjoyed it. There was a good story, fun characters, and great animation. I have to say I was a bit skeptical and ended up being pleasantly surprised.

I'm someone who often enjoys the small things in life, so there were two little moments in the film that I loved. I don't necessarily consider them spoilers, but if I ruin it for anyone, I apologize in advance.

Two of the characters in the movie were voiced by Ray and Tom Magliozzi, better known as "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers" on NPR's Car Talk. Now, I'm not really a "car person" or even an enthusiast, but that is one of my favorite radio shows, ever. It makes me laugh out loud.

The other cool surprise was that Jeremy Piven played Harv, an agent so very much like his Ari character on Entrourage. (I'm thouroughly enjoying the third season, by the way!)

6/19/2006

It's Monday already? Where did the weekend go? I often feel that way when I have to work on Saturday, even though I had a day off last week to compensate. I think I need to start taking a day off the week after I work.

The highlight of my weekend was DogFest, a film festival that featured dog-related short films. It was at the Autry National Center, which is across from the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park. It had been a really hot day, but cooled off a bit as the sun went down and was quite pleasant temperature-wise. My only complaint is that there were a lot of biting bugs.

E and I took Rusty with us to enjoy the screening, which was a fund raiser for PAWS/LA. There was a good turn out of people and dogs. I enjoyed most of the films, with La Puppe being my favorite. Rusty seemed to enjoy the outing and played with some of the other dogs.

We took a walk last night to one of our very favorite restaurants, Mardi Gras, only to find it has closed. As E said “It almost feels like a friend died.” I mean, they didn’t even tell us! Once home, we did some research and found that it’s not really gone, but is now part of Michael’s Bar & Grill in Burbank. The menu, chef, and even nightly specials are the same. Plus, they are open much later, which suits our dining habits better. The only bummer is that it isn’t quite in walking distance anymore, but it is still rather close.

I’m really upset to find out that Neko Case is playing the Henry Fonda Theater this coming Friday. I already have tickets to see Joe Jackson at Avalon. If only I could be in two places at once! Well, three actually. I also have Hollywood Bowl tickets for Friday, but will be getting rid of those.

I'll leave you with a laugh. We went over to some friends' house late Saturday night and saw this on a shelf in the kitchen. Yes, I'm juvenile.

6/17/2006

As I was walking into a public restroom last night, another woman was just ahead of me, dialing her cell phone. We went into stalls right next to each other. As soon as the stall doors closed, she started talking on the phone, as well as attending to her other needs. I did my 'business' and then paused, wondering what the protocol for flushing was since she was on the phone and it would obviously interupt her conversation.

Wait a minute! Why was I trying to be considerate? She was the one talking on her cell phone, in a public place, all while using the toilet. Who was the rude one? I decided that she was and flushed away. I think I've only ever called someone while in a bathroom stall once and I was drunk at the time so...I know, I know...still not okay.

6/15/2006

A couple of fellowbloggers emptied their purses to show what's inside. I thought I'd do the same. This is the bag I was carrying today. It's one of my most boring, least cute, but most functional bags. It's large enough for magazines or work folders. It's a cheap, non-leather Target bag, as most of mine are. I'm not into labels and would much rather spend a small amount of money on a lot of different bags than a lot of money on one really nice one. I tend to change what I'm carrying frequently.

The contents are pictured below. Click on the photo for detailed notes at flickr. I don't seem to have as many receipts and little hand-written notes as I usually do. I think it's because I cleaned it out last night. I do note a disturbing lack of candy or snacks.

I noticed that my Tide To Go stain removing stick was suspiciously missing. I found it in another bag that I was using last weekend. Luckily, I haven't spilled anything on myself for a couple of days. Truly amazing.

6/14/2006

It seems amazing that my left jaw and ear did not hurt much at all during the long weekend I just had. I don't want to blame my TMJ issues entirely on being back at work though. I think listening to part of GWB's press conference this morning has a lot to do with it.

6/13/2006

I work for a rather large organization and my department has around 100 people, many who are part-time. Out of all of those people, only four are male. So, we have a lot of weddings and babies and the oh-so-annoyingreally fun! showers that go along with them.

A long-standing tradition in my work area is that a quilt is made for anyone having their first baby. Squares of fabric are passed out to the people who want to participate and they are decorated in line with a particular theme, usually coinciding with the decor of the baby's room. Some talented person then takes all of these squares and makes them into a big quilt.

Being my snarky self, I noted aloud that it didn't seem fair to those of us who do not plan on having babies. I proposed that we get a quilt for pets instead. One of my co-workers made a joke about making me a hamster quilt and we laughed about it for a few days. It turns out she was serious.

This former co-worker of mine ended up resigning shortly after our conversation. She was only around for a couple more weeks, but sure enough, she made the quilt! She made it out of streamer paper and then added some decorations with fabric paint as some often do for the baby quilts. Here is the result:

Ami immediately nibbled on the quilt, which I figured he would do. I didn't let him eat any of the fabric paint though. I'm not sure he found it too appetizing, but he did take a few bites.

I know many people say they have no regrets in life. I do and I now have a new one. I really wish I'd spent more time with someone so fun and dorky that they'd make a quilt for my hamster! Luckily, she is local and we do plan to spend some time together soon.

6/12/2006

It's been a long, busy weekend for me. It started Thursday night and then I was off today because I have to work this coming Saturday. I've started to write about my weekend a couple of times, but was being too wordy.

In short, the past several days have included friends, s'mores, arts, music, crafts, annoyance, good food, comedy, creating, more music, more friends, classic cars, more comedy, some sleep (not enough of course), some organization and cleaning (also not enough), and a couple of unexpected celebritysightings. I guess it hasn't been too different than a lot of my weekends, but it just seems like it has been exceptionally busy.

I'm finally taking a bit of a breather to update here, upload some photos and listen to some music I picked up almost two weeks ago. Currently playing and enjoying Panic! At The Disco's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. I still have laundry, reading, creating, and organizing ahead of me tonight.

6/09/2006

Blogger and I have both been a bit under the weather this week. Things seem to be looking up though. I'm finally able to log in here and I'm also feeling a bit better.

The arrival of hot summer weather means time for cold treats. Some people, like justJenn, are talented enough to make their own. I'm not. Luckily, I've discovered a wonderful new snack called Blisscotti, which I can just buy. I'm actually not sure if they are in the store yet, but I got to sample a couple of flavors of the dark chocolate lined biscotti ice cream sandwiches. The mint chip and creamy coffee chip are excellent.

Eric put on a Hollywood MOBile MOVie drive-in event this past Wednesday night. It was pretty successful, especially for a week night. The feature film he showed was a documentary called OT: Our Town, which I really enjoyed. Check out E's website and sign up to receive notifications of future drive-ins in the Los Angeles area.

I'm currently watching Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet. I've always liked those precious creatures that like to stand tall on their hind legs. Naturally, the show is a bit melodramatic, but the footage is great. Sean Astin's narration is actually fairly low-key and pleasant. For laughs, I've been enjoying the British comedy My Family. It's very funny with lots of snark.

I got to hang out with a good friend, who currently lives in New Zealand, last night. It was great to see him and interesting to hear what it's like to really live there. There are definitely aspects of it he likes, but in some ways he's come to appreciate the time and friends he had here in L.A. more than he did. I'd love to visit N.Z., but am not convinced I'd want to live there.

On the pet front, Cosette's arthritis is not bothering her nearly as much. I'm not sure if she'd just aggravated it or if the glucosamine/chondroitin tablets she's taking are really helping. I'm just glad she's not limping around in pain anymore. I expanded Ami's hamster habitat recently and he now has a second wheel, which is a little bigger and fits him better. He loves it and runs like a maniac in it every night. It's not nearly as quiet as the old one, even after some Vaseline, so I close it off when I go to bed.

I'm addicted to Tejava. I just drink it really cold and it is so good.

The Los Angeles Film Festival, which I've enjoyed for several years is coming up soon. But before that, on June 17th, we have Dogfest, an outdoor screening featuring dog-related short films, at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park. The event will benefit PAWS/LA. Rusty and I will be there, taking in the movies under the stars.

This past weekend flew by, in what seemed like a blink of an eye, like most of them do. And most of my weekends are three-dayers (I'm off on Fridays), except when I have to work on Saturday and then, well, it doesn't even feel like a weekend. A few highlights:

I finally got my non-iPod mp3 player cleaned up to make room for podcasts.

I met up with Ren for some lunch and conversation. I still need to get on what we discussed.

Wehad dinner with a couple of friends we hadn't seen in awhile, at a favorite restaurant we hadn't been to in awhile.

We went to a midnight comedy show and stayed after to put up our portable screen for a film event the next morning.

We got dressed up for a good friend's 40th birthday party, which was held at The Hollywood Entertainment Museum, on the original Cheers set. The museum itself is kind of lame, which is probably why it's closing its doors at the end of the month. It was fun, but I regret not having a camera with me to get a shot of the cake that was shaped like two giant cupcakes. I know a couple of you would have appreciated it!

6/03/2006

Damn, it's hot. Africa hot. For financial and conservation reasons, I'd really hoped to not turn on my air conditioner yet. I believe I held out until almost July last year. Well, I broke down today and did it. Once the temperature passed 90 in the house, I couldn't take it any more. The windows were open and the fans were blowing, but it just kept getting worse. The dogs were panting and the hamster was sleeping on his back, minus the usual nest he makes with his bedding. I honestly thought he was dead, so I woke him up (and then regretted not photographing the cute sleeping-on-his-back pose!)

We went to the Hollywood Bowl last night for our first of many summer nights there. Garrison Keillor performed his A Prairie Home Companion radio show with special guest stars Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, and Meryl Streep, who are all in the upcoming movie of the same name. It was fun, but not quite as good as his show last year. I would have preferred another skit or two (there was no Guy Noir) and one or two fewer bluegrass or Jesus songs. It was kind of fun, in an oh, so dorky way, to catch snippets of the show on KPCC today.